Box-car-door opener



Jan. 14, 1930.

S. F. STARK BOX CAR DOOR OPENER Filed Sept. 24, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheab l S.P.Sutark @Houma Jan. 14, 1930.4 5, P, STARK BOX CAR DOOR OPENER Filed sep?. 24. 192s 2 sheets-sheet ivwmtoz S.P.Stark @Zw M .Whew

Patented Jan. 14, 1930 -SHIIilIIIDA 1?. STARK, OF OTTOSEN, IOWA BOX-CAR-DOOR OPENER Application filed September 24, 1928.

The present invention relates to car door structures, and more particularly to an opening and closing device or attachment to box cars and their doors.

An object oi the present invention is to provide a device which may be quickly and easily attached to a box car or the like and to the door thereof for opening or closing the door, according to the adjustment of the device, the device being operable by a crank or o the like which is adapted to increase the leverage of the opening or closing pressure on the door, and overcome the resistance of the door to sliding incident to the sagging of the door, pressure of material thereagainst or other causes.

It is wellkno-wn that the sliding doors of box cars, such as when loaded with grain or the like, become practically impossible as to opening and closing, owingprimarly to the sagging of the car body and to the warping, disalinement and sagging of the hanger track for the doors and their guide rails, and also incident to the swelling, binding and internal pressure against the doors. The present invention aims to provide a device which will exert sufficient pressure to operate the door under these adverse conditions, and which so applies the pressure between the body of the box car and the door as to not injure thesame.

' Another object of the invention ist-o provide a door opening and closing device of this character, which may be quickly and easily removed from a box car and its door portation and storage in va relatively small space, and a device which may be quickly and easily opened and setup in'position or use.

A A still Wfurther obj ectof the' invention is tot .provide certain improvements over tlie'lcon- Simenon 'Set 'form m myCO-pndmgiapph- Y. jects outwardly-from -a door post-1,18", wliiclris s v ;lOfited atzthe outer side ofthe door opening and -Whel'em'the'-Pfesentmyemton 1S @fsm maandag-ainsi which;thefOpWaI-aeege-fth door llis adapted to abut.'Thejhaysp'lfis 5 =f held on staple 17 by a pin 19 or'the likesiiiti ably carried bythe 'box car body 'l0' for Gh'oldpler. construction and of a reduced number` of 4.5 ,PatS and.Awhereinl the.' construction' is-rela- In the drawings, wherein like symbols -rei l Y y ,Y K v car 10 is provided near one end with step 'rails V 20 in the usual manner, and which are utilized 100 fer, to 'like .or tcorresponding.1A partsA throughout the several views, f

and folded into compact form for easy trans- Serial No. 308,112.

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation of a box car with its door in closed position, and with the improved device applied thereto.'

Figure 2 is an enlarged edge view showing the operative portion of the invention on an enlarged scale and as applied to a portion of the box car. Y

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken through the side oi: the box car substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. l and looking in the 60 direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure l but with the door of the box car open and with the device of this invention adjusted accordi ingly.

Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontalY section taken through the door post of the box car showing the operative device applied thereto, the section being taken substantially on the line 5--5 of Figure 2, and n Figure 6 is a horizontal sect-ion taken through the car door, showing the clamp of the present invention applied thereto.

Referring now tothe drawings for a more particular description of the invention, and 75 in which like or corresponding. numerals re V fer to similar ory like parts throughout the several views, l0 designates a box car o conventional i'orm, which is provided with the usual sliding door 1l suspended by hang- 80 ers l2 from a hanger rail or track 13 which is secured to the side of the box car 10 across the top of the door opening 14 and which extends considerably to one side thereof as shownv in Figures l and 4. v f

The door l1 maybe oit'4 any suitable construction and is shown as Aprovided with Ylongitudinal braces. 15 vfor,reinforcingthe` door. I i The door is also projvide'dwi-th the usualhasp" i6-adapted. to engag a vstaple 17fwhiicli'proingthe door ll closed.; The'bOdyO'tlie box shaft 24 having a handle 25, the shaft 24" having in the bracket 23 a drum 26 upon which is wound one end of a cable"27.`

The frame 21 is of any suitable length andv is adapted to be disposed vertically against the post 18, the frame 21 having one or moie openings or slots through which the staples 17 may project, so that the pin 19 when en gaged in the staples may be utilized for holding the frame 21 firmly in position. At one Y 4or more ypointsl the frame 21 is with an over-turnedliange 23 which, as shown in Figure 5, Vcarries a binding screw 29 threaded through-the flange and adapted to abut against the edge of the post 18 for securing the traine 21,rigidlyinplace.v The frame 21 is positioned with carried in the upper bracket22 uppermost and with the aXis of the drum 26 and the pulley 30 transversely oft ie door. The cable 27 extends upwardly from'the drum 26 over the pulley 27 and'in'wardlyacross the. door opening 14. Vhen the device is'adj'usted for opening' the door 11,` the cable 27 is provided with a hook 31 adapted tothe step rails 20, andk whichcarries a pulley 32 over' which the cable 27 passes so as to change the vdirection of 'pullof the cable 27 Yeo Vinterconnected vthrough The tree end of the cable 27 is providedjwith 33 which Imay be in the justably connected to the door clamp, shown best in Figurer'.

The door clamp comprises a pair of rodsv '34, which are similar in construction, each rod having at its inner end' an over-turned combined guideandfstop flange 35, which is apertured for slidably receiving therethrough the intermediate port-ion of the opposite rod 34, the rods Vbeing crossed or overlapped and the flanges 35, Vso as to slide one upon the other.`

- The outer end of each'rod 34 hasa laterally turned jaw 36 arranged to engage and preferably bight into the front and rear the door 11, so as an expanding coil spring upon thel overlapping between the flanges edges of being mounted portions of the rods 34 bind the jaws 36 against the door. Each rod 34 is provided with an apertured eye 38 with which is selectively connected the coupling provided the pulley 30,V

engage in one of to hold the clamp in place,

35 to -force the latter away' Vfrom eachother and thus draw the rods 34 into further overlapping engagement rand rails 20'with the cable 27 extending across 75 Y the door l'land'along the side of the car 10 and returned over the pulley 32 and connected to ythe forward rod 34.V The handle 25 lis now turnedso astowind the cable 27 on the drum 26 with the result that increased lever- 80 age is provided over the pulley 321and lthe leverage isl also increasedv through the'dru'in 26 and handle 25. The result ofsucha construction and arrangement-is that considerable pressure is exerted on `the door 11=tof slide it 85 into open position. When the door 11 is open, Y as shown in Figure4jthe hook` 3-1v and pulley 32., are not used but maybe supportedin idle position, as shown in Figure 4, out'ofthe way.

he coupling 33 `is connected to the rear red Y 34 ofthe door clainp and the handle 2'5'operated asjbefore.A

This Voperation gives an increased leverage through the drum andV handle and drawsthe doorll across the opening 14 -in-to closed posi.- tion. The device may be quicklya'nd'easily applied .tothecan and as easily and "quickly vremoved therefrom after use.`V It' is p apthe position shown in Figure 1 to that shown may bev veryfquickly and veasily inl Figure 4 v accomplishedbymerelydisengaging hook 31 from the step rail 20.

, Thedevice thus comprises but relatively few parts and the parts are of such construe tionthat they may be economically manufactured and assembled, and the device `when removed from the car maybe folded into'relatively small Vspace for carrying about andi'or no Storage. v l 'K I "donot lwish tobe restricted to theA size, form, and proportionsfof the 'various parts, and obviously changes'couldbe madejn't-he construction herein described without depart- '115 ing from the spiritof ,the invention, it being onlyV necessary that such changesY fallfwithin the scope of the appended claims. Q

1. A ldoor opening and closingV device comprising an operating memben'meansfor dei-l tachably connecting the operating memberr'to a. door post, Va clal ping member forengagement with the door, and-adjustable -connections between the operating member andthe ,125 clamping member for operationlacrossfthem" doc i` to move the same jinto open andclosed f positions. e

2. A door opening and closing ,device comprising an operating meinber`,`lnielans zhalide-@,130

tachably securing the member to a door post, a clamp for engagement with the door, a connection between the clamp and the operating member, and an adjustable device carried by the connection for attachment to the door support for determining the direction of movement of the door.

3. A door opening and closing device for attachment to a box car having the usual lo door post, door hasp receiving staple and locking pin and the usual step rails, a frame for engagement against the door post and having an opening for receiving said staple to secure the frame to the post by said locking pin, a drum on the frame, a cable on the drum, a clamp adapted for attachment to the door, and a combined pulley and hook mounted on the cable adapted for connection with one of said step rails for stretchingvsaid cable across said door and the side of the box car whereby to operate said door in a direction away from said frame upon the turning of said drum.

4. A door opening and closing device for box cars comprising a door clamp adapted for attachment to the door, a frame Jor attachment to the door post at the side of the car, a drum in the frame, a handle for turning said drum, a pulley in the frame substantially in line with said clamp, a cable for one end attached to the drum to be wound thereon, and connected to said clamp at its other end, and a direction changing element carried by the cable adapted for connection to the side of the box car for changing the direction of movement of the door upon the operation of the drum.

5. A door opening and closing device comprising a clamp for a door having a pair of o slidably interconnected jaws, a spring for normally drawing said jaws toward each other to bind against the front and rear edges of the door and each jaw having a coupling element, a frame for attachment to the door 5 post, a 'drum in the fra-me, a cable connected at one end of the drum adapted to be wound thereon, a coupling element on the other end of the cable for detachable engagement with the coupling element of the jaw remote from :o said frame when the device is used for drawing the door into closed position, and a direction changing member carried by the cable for attachment to the side of the box car rearwardly of the door Jfor looping the cable 55 across the door and said side of the car, the

coupling element of the cable adapted for detachable engagement with the coupling element of the jaw remote from said direction changing device for drawing the door into open position upon the operation of the drum. In testimony whereof, I have ailixed my signature.

SHEILIDA P. STARK. 

